Charity Begins at Home: Cultural Differences in Social Discounting and Generosity

People often consider how their actions influence others when making decisions. However, we are not equally generous to everyone alike. Our willingness to share resources declines as a function of social distance between the decision maker and the recipient. This function is likely to be influenced by culture, but research on behavioral decision making is still lacking empirical evidence. In Western societies, individuals generally perceive themselves as autonomous and independent from others, whereas the distinction between self and close others is less sharply defined by Eastern individuals where relationships and group membership are more centralized. Therefore, the social discount function should reflect this difference in the distinction of self and others by a reduced decline in generosity over close social distances. A social decision‐making task was adapted to the intercultural context, and data were collected in Germany and China. For seven different social distances, we estimated how much money German and Chinese subjects were willing to forego to give a certain reward to another person. A hyperbolic model was fitted to the data. We found that other‐regarding generosity declines as a function of social distance independent of cultural identity. However, German subjects showed a marked drop in generosity across close social distances, which was significantly less pronounced in Chinese participants. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

不同类型的开放式无张力疝修补术的对照研究

比较经腹股沟和修补腹膜前间隙两类无张力癌修补术对腹股沟疝治疗结果的优缺点。将100例腹股沟疝患者随机分为经腹股沟修补组（60例）和经腹膜前间隙修补组（40例）,比较两组患者各手术相关指标、手术并发症及手术费用等方面区别。结果,经腹膜前间隙修补组较经腹股沟修补组手术时间略长（P〈0．05）、手术费用增加（P〈O．05）,而在手术并发症等方面两组差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。两类手术各有优缺点,选择何种术式则要因人、因手术医院而异。     

A general response style factor: Evidence from a multi-ethnic study in the Netherlands

In a cross-cultural study we addressed commonalities and differences of acquiescence, extremity, midpoint responding, and socially desirable responding that can be taken to constitute a single underlying response style. Participants were 548 Dutch nationals and 1116 first- and second-generation immigrants of Western and Non-Western origins in the Netherlands. Self-report measures of the four response styles, and personality traits were administered. Conventional, indirect measures of acquiescence, extremity, and midpoint responding were also calculated. A multigroup confirmatory factor analysis showed support for a general response style factor with positive loadings of extremity and socially desirable responding, and negative loadings of acquiescence and midpoint responding. The response style factor was strongly associated with personality (notably the “Big One” factor). Furthermore, acquiescence and impression management were related to agreeableness, extremity and midpoint responding to extraversion, and self-deceptive enhancement to neuroticism. These findings support a view that there is a general response style factor and that, in addition, each response style has some unique meaning. The ethnic groups differed significantly on response style use, with Non-Western immigrants showing higher acquiescence and midpoint responding than the other groups. The general response style factor can be interpreted as a communication filter that moderates self-reports. Implications are discussed.     

Attitude of Medical School Students in China Towards Genetic Testing and Counseling Issues in FXS

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of inherited intellectual disability. However, genetic testing protocols and genetic counseling guidelines for FXS are not yet established in mainland China. In the present study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis using a self-administered questionnaire among students at the Xiangya medical school to investigate their attitude towards genetic testing and counseling issues of FXS. We have gained a general understanding of the attitudes of medical students towards these FXS issues in China. This information is of immense importance to develop appropriate genetic tests and to train counselors for FXS. As the medical school students surveyed are prospective physicians who will be a part of the Chinese health system, our survey was focused on the basic knowledge of FXS, population-based FXS screening, confidentiality and reproductive options for mutation carriers. The study demonstrated that only less than one third of the participants had heard about FXS. 94.6 % of participants were in favor of FXS screening for women in their reproductive age who had a genetic history of FXS. Furthermore, only half of the participants would inform their families about their genetic status in case of positive test results, and more than half of the participants supported natural conception and prenatal diagnosis for FXS mutation carriers. Additional findings and research implications are also discussed. This survey targeting potential doctors provides important information for the development of FXS genetic test and counselor training for the Chinese health system.     

The atomic structure of the dislocation cores in a small-angle grain boundary in BaTiO3 thin films

The atomic structure of the cores of the dislocations forming a [110] tilt boundary of 10^o misorientation in a BaTiO₃ film is characterized by means of focal-series reconstruction. Along the small-angle grain boundary, facets with different inclinations are accompanied by different types of dislocation. The dislocation with a Burgers vector of a [001] appears as a perfect edge type. Those with a Burgers vector of a [111] are dissociated into three partials with a Burgers vector of (a/3)[111], leading to two segments of stacking faults. Structural models of these dislocation cores are suggested on the basis of the phase of the reconstructed wavefunction and tested by simulation of the wavefunction.     

Study on the deformation of nanocrystalline cobalt

A study was carried out on the deformation of nanocrystalline cobalt. For cold-rolled nanocrystalline cobalt, the X-ray diffraction peaks narrowed instead of broadened on deformation. The results of transmission electron microscopy showed that grain size (17.8?nm on average) was not increased. The results can be explained in terms of the production and activity of vacancies and vacancy clusters.     

A New Procedure to Test Mediation With Missing Data Through Nonparametric Bootstrapping and Multiple Imputation

This article proposes a new procedure to test mediation with the presence of missing data by combining nonparametric bootstrapping with multiple imputation (MI). This procedure performs MI first and then bootstrapping for each imputed data set. The proposed procedure is more computationally efficient than the procedure that performs bootstrapping first and then MI for each bootstrap sample. The validity of the procedure is evaluated using a simulation study under different sample size, missing data mechanism, missing data proportion, and shape of distribution conditions. The result suggests that the proposed procedure performs comparably to the procedure that combines bootstrapping with full information maximum likelihood under most conditions. However, caution needs to be taken when using this procedure to handle missing not-at-random or nonnormal data.     

中国传统哲学范式的现代转型

中国传统哲学范式在历史上经历了从古典范式、近代范式到现代范式的转型,“哲学范式转型”意味着哲学重心的转移和透视问题的角度发生了根本的变迁。20世纪上半叶,可以称为传统哲学范式向现代转型的最初阶段。应当说,传统哲学范式的转型是与历史事件分不开的。传统哲学范式向现代的转型得益于五四新文化运动。它有两个基本的转型路向：首先表现为由意识形态向学术资源或知识形态的转型。这种转型突出地表现为现代新儒学对传统儒学范式进行了新的思考和变革,确立了它的现代形态。其次是为传统哲学范式向现代的转型做了准备,表现在对传统哲学进行了深入的思考和清理,并以新的哲学思想(西方哲学、马克思主义哲学)对传统哲学的整体框架给以全面审视。20世纪初的传统哲学范式的转型是中国哲学史上的一次重大飞跃。自此以后,传统哲学从语言表述到问题视阈,从内容到方法都进入了一个崭新的时期。     

Testing indirect effect with a complete or incomplete dichotomous mediator

Past methodological research on mediation analysis mainly focused on situations where all variables were complete and continuous. When issues of categorical data occur combined with missing data, more methodological considerations are involved. Specifically, appropriate decisions need to be made on estimation methods of the indirect effects and on confidence intervals for testing the indirect effects with accommodations of missing data. We compare strategies that address these issues based on a model with a dichotomous mediator, aiming to provide guidelines for researchers facing such challenges in practice.     

成就目标定向在学业自我概念与学业成绩关系中的调节作用:基于内/外参照模型

为了探究成就目标定向在学业自我概念与学业成绩关系中的调节作用,采用语文学业自我概念量表、数学学业自我概念量表和成就目标定向量表对1515名初中生进行测查。结果显示：(1)初中生语文-数学学业自我概念建构过程符合内/外参照模型(Internal/External Frame of Reference Model, I/EM);(2)掌握回避对I/EM的维度比较路径存在调节作用,掌握回避得分越高越易受维度比较效应的影响,该现象对于语文成绩和数学成绩相对差的学生更明显;(3)成绩回避对I/EM的社会比较路径存在调节作用,成绩回避得分越高越不易受社会比较效应的影响,该现象对于语文成绩和数学成绩相对好的学生更明显。本研究揭示了持有不同成就目标定向的初中生在学业自我概念建构过程中的差异,对引导初中生建构积极学业自我概念具有重要启示。